Strong neighbor island showing among new first-year medical students

Members of the entering class at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) are undertaking the study of medicine just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, which is destined to change the way physicians practice medicine and how Americans access health care.

Chosen from more than 1,600 applicants who sought to study at the University of Hawai`i’s medical school, the 66 aspiring doctors in the newest MD class received the hip-length white coats that marked them as medical students during a ceremony on Friday, July 20. The students also recited the Oath of Hippocrates, sacred to their profession, as they began their journey to become healers.

The entering class, made up of 40 women and 26 men, will study alongside the 200 other students (second-, third- and fourth-year students) pursuing their MD degrees at JABSOM. There is a strong neighbor island presence in the class, with eleven students from Hawai`i Island, Maui and Kaua`i, regions where a physician shortage make it challenging to receive timely primary health care.

"You work so hard to get up to this point and it seems like it's finally paying off," said first-year medical student Randi Olds of Kaua'i. "The white coat symbolizes that we are about to be physicians and it’s really exciting."

In addition to training medical students, JABSOM also oversees the post-MD medical training of another 250 physicians being supervised during their intern and residency years at Hawai`i’s major medical centers.

JABSOM is the overwhelming source of doctors treating patients in the state. About half of the practicing physicians in Hawai`i are graduates of JABSOM, its residency program and/or are on the faculty.

Here are some other quick facts about the entering MD class:

• They will be the first JABSOM class to use I-Pads for all their course work. The school's innovative, problem-based learning curriculum has been adjusted to incorporate the Apple tablet computer.

• The average student age is 24, with the range from 20 to 33.

• 58 of the 66 are Hawai`i residents.

• Of the eleven neighbor island students, eight are from Hawai`i Island, two from Maui and one is from Kaua`i.

• 83% graduated from Hawai`i high schools (23 public, 32 private).

• The class includes two sets of siblings (brother and sister).

• The public schools with most graduates in the incoming class are Waiākea and Roosevelt, with 3 each.

• Fourteen of the 66 have advanced degrees, including 13 holders of Master’s degrees and a PhD.

• 16 attended the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa for their undergraduate studies.